The middle class is dead.The US
has produced a self-sustaining two-class society.Most Lower Class Americans are in bad or
uncertain economic shape but the rich and powerful Upper Class crowd keeps
making and spending money as if there has been no recession.

Talk about a possible double-dip recession misses the larger
reality: For many millions of Americans the first recession is still here;
there has been no recovery for them.Too
bad President Obama cannot comprehend that.Nice that only 23 percent of people believe that his policies have made
economic conditions better.Maybe they
got the change they were waiting for.

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A new survey by the PewResearchCenter provides
disturbing data that no amount of lies from politicians can refute.Without a lot more consumer spending,
remember, the US
economy will not regain lasting health.The
scope of the economic shock is shown by the 60 percent of Americans that have
cut down on borrowing and spending.And
nearly 50 percent are in worse financial shape because of the economic
downturn.Forty percent of adults have
tapped savings and retirement accounts to make ends meet.Nearly 25 percent have had to borrow money
from someone.Ten percent have moved
back with their parents to survive the economic tsunami, and that rises to 24
percent for workers between 18 and 29 years old.

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More and more Americans now recognize that retirement will
have to wait.For those 62 and older and
still working, 35 percent have postponed retirement.That jumps to 60 percent as a likely action
for working adults between ages 50 and 61.Replace the golden years with the disappointment years, especially when inevitable
reduced Social Security and Medicare benefits hit hard.

For those still lucky enough to have jobs, the Commerce
Department reports that the personal savings rate in May -- the part of wage
income that goes unspent -- rose to 4 percent, the highest amount in nearly a
year, as anxious consumers faced continued economic woes, such as fears about
losing jobs or homes, affording food and health care, and a tumbling stock
market.

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And always remember that the official jobless rate of just
under 10 percent is pure bunk; it really is close to 20 percent nationally, and
a lot worse in many places and for African-Americans and Hispanics.The average time for being without a job is
now six months, with many more people jobless for a whole lot more, often
several years.All this means suppressed
consumer spending and continued high home foreclosure rates.No big surprise that consumer confidence
crashed almost 10 points between May and June.Welcome to high anxiety.

Joel S. Hirschhorn is the author of Delusional Democracy - Fixing the Republic Without Overthrowing the Government and several other books, as well as hundreds of articles. His current political writings have been greatly influenced by working (more...)